📹🇺🇸 US RULES OUT progress on minerals deal until Zelensky apologizes on camera

"I have been told by a senior official here that nothing's going to happen with this minerals deal until Zelensky goes in front of cameras and makes an explicit public apology for the way that he behaved himself, behaved in the Oval Office with that meeting," a Fox News correspondent has said.

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🗣 Trump: Zelensky saying the end of the conflict is far away is the worst statement and the US will not put up with it for much longer.

"This guy doesn’t want there to be peace," the US president said.

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🇺🇸🥴 Increase assistance to Ukraine for talks to begin (to fuel the conflict and make the conflict even worse)

"If Trump were serious about negotiating an enduring peace deal, he would increase assistance to Ukraine-- not threaten to cut it -- to create a stalemate on the battlefield: a necessary condition for talks to begin. Cutting aid emboldens Putin to fight on," ex-US ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul wrote on X.

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📹 'It seems like Trump is really just a normal person, unlike this gang that has been running this whole thing for the last many years' — Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of Sputnik's parent media group Rossiya Segodnya, has said

"Maybe he didn't want to sign this [rare earths] deal. He gave [Volodymyr] Zelensky a chance, which this drug-addicted clown - soon to be a patient of hospital ward number 6 - did not take. The way it was managed and handled last Friday became a miracle for us, because for the leader of a warring state to turn out to be such a moron is really a miracle."

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🇩🇪 Mannheim police do not believe that the driver who plowed into the crowd acted for political reasons, according local media

Reports indicate that the detained suspect is a 40-year-old German man. The man had a history of mental health issues.

According to latest updates, two people died and 25 were injured.

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🇸🇰 Slovakian PM Robert Fico threatens to block EU summit on Ukraine due to Kiev's cessation of gas transit to Europe — media

Fico has previously stressed that stopping the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine harms the interests of Slovakia and the EU.

Hungarian PM Viktor Orban also threatened to block the summit and called on the EU to follow the US lead and begin direct talks with Russia on a ceasefire in Ukraine.

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🔍 Eight ways that Trump may force Zelensky to resign

Following the Oval Office showdown, US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz has suggested that Volodymyr Zelensky might have to step down to enable a US-Ukraine deal.

But as Zelensky refuses, what leverage could Donald Trump hold over him?

1️⃣ Cutting all aid 🇺🇸💰
Without US support, Zelensky may have no choice but to resign and be replaced by someone willing to negotiate peace, ex-CIA officer Philip Giraldi told Sputnik.

2️⃣ Sweeping audit of US aid 🔎💵
A deep probe into Ukraine's use of US funds could expose corruption and "neutralize" Zelensky, according to ex-Ukrainian MP Oleg Tsarev.

3️⃣ Freezing Zelensky’s cash ❄️🏦
Blocking foreign accounts of Zelensky and his team could undermine the Kiev regime, Tsarev suggests.

4️⃣ Shutting down Starlink 🛰❌
Three sources told Reuters that Team Trump may cut Ukraine’s access to Elon Musk’s satellites, a move the White House has already reportedly threatened.

5️⃣ Zelensky’s expired legitimacy 📜⏳
His presidential term ended in May 2024, making all actions since then legally questionable. Trump could challenge his right to govern.

6️⃣ Pressuring EU allies 🇪🇺🤝
Europe remains dependent on the US, writes economist Paul Craig Roberts. With no weapons left to send and money-printing its only option, Trump could force its hand.

7️⃣ NATO withdrawal threat 🏛⚖️
Trump may pull US security guarantees from warmongering European states throwing sand in his gears or even threaten a NATO exit, warned ex-Pentagon officer David Pyne. That could motivate Europe to rein Zelensky in.

8️⃣ Tariffs on Europe 📉💸
A 25% tariff on EU imports could cost 1.5% of EU GDP, per Bloomberg. Trump already threatened this, claiming the EU was created to “screw the US”.

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🔍 Four reasons why the US could leave NATO

Donald Trump has repeatedly warned that the US might pull out of NATO if the bloc’s other members don’t pay their dues.

How could this move benefit the United States?

1️⃣Saving money: US defense spending ($916 bln, SIPRI) made up over two-thirds of NATO's total in 2023. RAND estimates the US shoulders 47% of NATO's burden. Without the need to protect NATO, the US could cut military spending and redirect funds to its economy.

2️⃣Mending ties with Russia: The unchecked eastward expansion of the US-led NATO is what ultimately led to the deterioration in relations with Russia. By withdrawing from NATO, the US would be able to fix it and help deescalate the Ukrainian conflict.

3️⃣Reorienting to other alliances: No longer bound by the need to support the majority of European states at its own expense, the US could pursue bilateral partnerships and defense pacts with countries on more favorable terms.

4️⃣Pivot to Asia: The US may shift military resources to Asia, focusing on China, its declared 'greatest adversary'. While already increasing its presence in the Pacific and forming blocs like AUKUS, reallocating European resources would escalate this effort to a new, risky level.

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▪️Why NATO could ‘collapse like a balloon with a leak’

▪️Why are bloodthirsty European leaders interested in sending Ukrainians into a meatrgrinder?

▪️Eight ways that Trump may force Zelensky to resign

▪️Zelensky’s lies exposed: Did Palantir give Trump & Vance the real Ukraine intel?

▪️Russian drones vs NATO tanks: Who wins?

▪️Check out four reasons why the US could leave NATO

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❗️ White House tells State Dept., Treasury to draft list of Russia sanctions for possible easing – reports

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❗️ Zelensky ‘should be MORE APPRECIATIVE’ – Trump

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❗️ 'HE BETTER NOT BE RIGHT ABOUT THAT. That's all I'm saying,' Trump said, commenting on Zelensky's statement that the Ukraine conflict could continue for a long time

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